I usually enjoy spy thrillers and while the plot of this one was interesting, the author likes to bring in threads from earlier books and leave other threads hanging at the end so that (I suppose) they'll be picked up and resolved in the next book. I don't mind sequels, but I do mind serials... ( )

What happens when you can only trust one person? Read the book and find out! A great story filled with twists and turns, deceit, and intrigue! You won't regret picking this one up! ( )

Eric van Lustbader’s third installment in the Jack McClure series, Blood Trust is just as exciting and fast-paced as the first two books, if not quite as believable. It’s full of foreign locales, double agents, evil billionaires and hidden agendas – everything a spy novel needs! It also takes us deeper into the relationships between our key characters, primarily the relationship between McClure and former first daughter, Alli Carson, and the relationship between Carson and Jack’s dead daughter, Emma.

In the first book, First Daughter, Jack McClure is called in to prevent a catastrophe when the daughter of the President-Elect, Alli McClure, is kidnapped. In the second in the series, Last Snow, Jack and Alli team up in Eastern Europe to find a senator’s killer and derail a political plot that could be devastating for the US. Last Snow ends with huge twist that could potentially derail the series. Instead, Blood Trust uses the twist brilliantly, picking up on Alli and Jack’s lives as they have tried to move on.

Jack McClure is an odd sort of leading man. He was an ATF agent, but suffers from intense dyslexia, the sort of reading and comprehension problems that would seem to disqualify him from such a job. Instead, he has used his very different style of comprehension to his advantage, as it lets him see patterns and pathways most people don’t. He also talks to his dead daughter. It’s weird – rather like the Hamish character in A Lonely Death. She’s the voice of his guilt, but she’s also an active, observant character in the story.

I found this installment a little less believable than the last, with all of its conspiracies at the highest levels of the US government, unstoppable foreign dictators, etc., but plausibility is not high on my list of criteria for spy novels. I want action and adventure and plot twists and surprise turns of events and this certainly has all of that. Alli is in trouble and Jack is going to save her, no matter what it takes. There’s her billionaire uncle with surprising secrets and tendrils reaching into all sorts of nasty places. There’s Thate, the young man who is either their worst enemy…or their only hope. And there’s a not-so-surprising visit from an old frenemy, bringing surprises of its own.

I really enjoyed Blood Trust. I have enjoyed the skillful way that Lustbader moves the series forward, without leaving behind characters and threads of plot that started in earlier books. the story is over-the-top enough to make a great spy novel, but it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility. McClure is an interesting character, using what most people would consider a disability to his considerable advantage. I’m not sure how much I love the latest developments where Alli is concerned, but I am more than willing to give the author another book or two to see how they pan out. ( )

BLOOD TRUST BY ERIC VAN LUSTBADER is an intriguing thriller/suspense.It is the third in the Jack McLure-Ali Carson Novels.See First Daughter,and Last Snow.Has an interesting plot with characters where some capture your heart while others want to be deceased. It has human trafficing of young women,murder,torture,suspense,intrigue,hatred,manipulation,and of course just plain high octane action. When Ali Carson,formal daughter of President Edwar Carson,who has died teams up with ex-ATF agent now National Security Advisor Jack McClure what follows is a web of lies and deceit.Which leads them into the treacherous journey of a terrifying criminal mastermind,that is fueled by hatred and knows no mercy. Ties to global terrorism,secrets,and deception that far reaches anyone's expectations.Blood Trust is an must for any and all suspense,action,mystery,and thriller readers. It is a high octane,action packed story from beginning to end. This book was received for the purpose of review from Zeitghost Media.Details can be found at A Forge Book,A Tom Doherty Associates Book and My Book Addiction Review. ( )

I have read several of Eric Van Lustbader's books and found this one sub-par in all areas. The plot was far too implausible to generate any suspense; the characters were thriller clichés, and the dialogue embarrassing. All of the characters--including the U.S. president, government officials, law enforcement types, and captains of industry, terrorists and other assorted bad guys--use the "F" word as part of their everyday vocabulary. Van Lustbader must have been on a tight deadline when he wrote this. It's not very good and definitely worse than the two earlier entries in the series. ( )